[Friday Work Whistle] Gene Simmons: Love Or Hate Him, The Man Knows How To Put On A Show

In the bass community you have one of three opinions for Gene Simmons (real name: Chaim Weitz). You either: a) love him, b) hate him or c) hate him but respect him as an entertainer.

For most players, the answer is C. They hate the man, but respect the entertainer.

Note that I said entertainer and not musician. Gene, as most KISS fans are aware, is about the show first and being a musician second. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

This isn’t to say that Gene can’t play, as he certainly can do that. While he may not be the most technically adept player, the fact he can play a whole show in sky-high platform shoes, almost never look at the fingerboard when he’s playing, sing, parade around in a heavy costume and carry all that in a ridiculously loud stage environment while performing stage tricks all at the same time is no easy feat. And he still does it in his 60s (he’s 63!)

In other words, as a player it’s easy to say “GENE SUCKS!” But you can’t say that about his entertainer skills, because the man, said honestly, consistently delivers a top-drawer show, and well, there’s no denying that.

But enough about the man, let’s talk about his gear and his sound.

Gene has gone through quite a few different basses over the years.

In the early-early years of KISS, he favored a Charlie LoBue bass (photos); this was a custom bass guitar made by Charlie. Before that he had an old rickety Epiphone which was stolen, bought a Fender P for $150, sold that P for $300, took that cash and had Charlie build his custom which he used all the way to the Love Gun album. It was modified many, many times and in its final form had metal studs on the body.

After that, Gene went all over the place with his instruments. He had the “axe bass” which was literally shaped like an axe, a Gibson Ripper as seen in the above photo. And no, it is not a G-3 as that bass has three single-coils in it while the Ripper has two Bill Lawrence “super-humbucking” pickups. Although yes, Gene has played Gibson Grabber basses as well.

From there, Gene has gone through many different bass guitars. Here’s a partial list:

Gene with Pedula bass

Gene with Kramer Axe bass

Gene with Jackson bass

Gene with Spector bass

Gene with Punisher bass

Has Gene’s tone ever been good?

The general rule of thumb when it comes to talking about Gene’s tone is this:

In the studio, it’s either great or it sucks, depending on album.

In a live performance, it’s amazing. The God of Thunder truly does have a thundering bass sound live. And remember, there’s a difference between loud, and loud and good.

The album which best shows off what Gene’s live tone truly sounds like is from KISS’s 2012 album Monster; you can really hear Gene’s bass on those tracks in all its gritty glory:

Not bad for a guy in his 60s. 🙂

Gene may be entertainer first, musician second, but for many, Gene was the reason a lot of kids picked up a bass in the first place. Yeah, he’s cartoony, flashy and not the best player in the world. But there’s no denying he does rock.